8 Years
by Teh Shadow of teh Smex
Summary: Horrible news arrives from Suna. Can Hinata overcome her feelings for Gaara,...period?GaaHina Lime included. o


**Here's (REALLY) the last part, it's like 53464 times beta-readed by me and my dictionairy. But I learned 'hurted' and 'letted' are not real English words. And it's long like hell, and...it's SUPERDRAMATIC! Yesh! Incredible drama! I'm such a dramawhore.**  
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"You shouldn't worry about her coming with me" Sakura said, as she stood in front of Tsunade's desk, rereading the message that arrived from Sunagakure this afternoon. "It all has been sorted out, we all got older and I can use someone like her at my side. And, to be honest, I'm very worried about his situation".

Despite Sakura's long speech about why she thought Hinata was fitting for joining her on this particular mission, Tsunade still had her doubts. The frown on her face grew bigger and bigger as she stared at the message that Sakura still was holding.

"Fine" She sighed after a long and uncomfortable silence. "I'll trust you with this task _and_ Hinata". She nodded slowly, probably still in doubt about Hinata's part in this mission.

"I can guarantee you, I will keep an eye on her, but maybe she is what he needs in this situation. They are...pretty close". Sakura stared at a non-existant point at the window of Tsunade's office, her face showing a weird expression. "We need to leave as soon as possible".

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"W...what?". Hinata shook her head with confusion while Sakura told her about the message that arrived from Suna.

She had just been on her way to meet up with Kiba for some serious training in the woods when Sakura suddenly appeared in front of her bringing the most horrible news ever.

The pink haired female looked at the ground, her face worried, adding some more spice to the news that was given. "They have to be desperate, asking for Tsunade's knowledge".

Hinata didn't know what to say, or what to think, or what to answer for that matter. She just stared at Sakura, eyes full of disbelief.

Sakura handed a piece of paper to her. "Here is the message with all the details. It's really bad, but maybe your presence will make it...somekind of easier for him".

Hinata's heart was pounding in her throat as her fingers clutched themselves around the paper.

"I...I will pack my stuff right now". It came out determined, and that's what she was. She was more than determined. There was nowhere else she wanted to be right now than to support him during these awful times. "I want to be there for him, e...especially n...now".

Sakura nodded, smiling faintly. "Yeah,...I can imagine".

And even before Sakura could give her some final instructions Hinata ran off.

She was in the highest state of emergency. There was no time for waiting around (or being around Sakura for that matter), she ran through the house, eyes widened. Being on the verge of crying.

It earned her a suspicious glance from Neji, who was sitting behind the desk, writing something.

"Hina...?".

She really didn't care about him at this point, there was only one person in her mind right now, so she neglected Neji's call and followed her way through the house.

Hinata hadn't allowed that particular person to dominate her mind for ages. It took her a year of 'rehab' but she managed to accept the facts as they were. She resisted the temptation to meet up with him when she heared he was in town. And even at some times memories seem to fade, to make things more easier for her. Making her able look forward again.

_Love could be so damn consuming!_

But this news had shocked her in a very bad way. It shocked her more than she had expected. Was the situation _that _bad?

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Hinata didn't spoke much with Sakura during their trip to Sunagakure. She was too busy worrying. The thought about him being in pain, suffering consumed her in the worst way possible. She had read the message, it was all too clear.

Four days ago Gaara fell ill. It started as a slight fever, as something Suna's medics could handle. But it got out of hand, his illness got worser. All up to the point that it went over their heads and for the second time they had to ask Tsunade's help. And a sick Kage was one important problem. Especially when that Kage was busy to become one of the best ones they ever had. Sunagakure regained the good name it had during the reign of their third Kazekage. And Gaara seemed to be very resourcefull in finding solutions for the financial problems they used to have. For once the villagers and that council realised how much they needed Gaara as their Kazekage.

Seeing him again was certainly one of the things Hinata was longing for, but not in these circumstances. And beside the fact she became the well trained ninja she wanted to be her entire life, the subject _Gaara _still was her biggest weak spot. Permanently.

Every memory she had of him was a good one.

At some nights she could even feel his touches, his gentle kisses. That unusual scent that surrounded him, the scent she couldn't get enough of in the first place.

And during the moments in the night when she just had to give in to her urges, he was the one she thought of, his name was the one she muttered in her pillow, while her fingers explored the area between her legs.

It had _never_ been someone else.

There simply _wasn't_ someone else.

And despite the fact she came to terms with her feelings towards him 3 years ago. When she said goodbye to him. When her mind finally accepted that any relationship with him wasn't possible in the first place. And when he finally was willing to admit that the feelings he had towards her were based on love. She still _loved _him with every beat of her heart.

And now he was ill. Helpless, slipping away under the hands of Suna's best medics.

Tsunade had given Sakura some recipes and medicines, and she had said that if these didn't help she would come herself.

Hinata prayed to everything she believed in, that Gaara would be allright, that he would get cured. Either by the medicine Sakura had with her, or Tsunade herself.

Not having Gaara around her anymore had been painful, but _this world _not having Gaara, was downright something she would never survive.

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They reached Sunagakure around midnight. Sakura had been pushing the speed to make sure they would arrive in 2 days, instead of the needed 3. Hinata didn't had any problems with it. Actually she wouldn't mind Sakura even moving faster. She wanted to be in Suna as soon as possible.

Kankurou was the one who welcomed them when they arrived at Suna's gates.

He looked even more tired and beaten than Sakura and Hinata were. He probably had been at his brothers bed all the time, seeing every attempt fail, seeing his little brother fade away.

"I'm happy you two are here" he said. "I can understand you need some rest first, though".

"No" was Sakura's answer. "Just bring us to Gaara, the message was obvious enough that the situation is serious. We can't waste time".

Kankurou smiled thankfully. "I was hoping for an answer like that".

"I think you're the one who needs some rest" Sakura added with a smile.

"Yeah, I was planning too, as soon you would be here".

"Fill me in on some details before we go in".

He sighed, the worried expression on his face deepened. "I don't know, I actually haven't really seen Gaara in a state like this before. I mean, he has been ill on previous occassions. But it's nothing like this. He doesn't eat or drink, he is mostly sleeping, or in somekind of sleeping state, I dunno. Sometimes he wakes up and gets all delirious. The main thing right now is that we need to get him to drink".

The three ninja's walked up to Gaara's residence while a chilly wind gave them goosebumps along the way to the Kage's quarters.

Hinata knew the building too well. She sighed and tried to hide her worry when they entered the place through the maindoor.

Immediately one of the medics came running at them. He talked to Sakura in a calm, soft way, leaving Hinata oblivious to the content. And she really wanted to know.

When they reached the door of his livingquarters Sakura turned towards her.

"Maybe it's better if you take a rest for a few hours".

"I...I...I want to see him" Hinata answered, realizing it came out in a more begging way than she intended.

Sakura rolled her eyes and a short nod followed.

"Don't get in the way, and _no _drama!" Sakura hissed, waving a finger in front of her face if she was a five year old that needed to get scolded.

_I'm a grown woman, goddamnit!_

Hinata nodded and started to brace herself for the condition she would find him in and the obvious chaos that would follow because of that. She couldn't promise Sakura to not make any drama.

"Right now Temari is the only one who stays with him" Kankurou told them. "She kicked all the others out this afternoon and told them to stay away until you would arrive. The fact she's powerless to do anything makes her very, _very_ agitated".

They walked through Gaara's livingroom. Hinata reconized the wooden chair she sat in 3 years ago, before he dragged her to his bedroom where he showed her what she had missed all those years. The bookcase, the small kitchen. Everything looked untouched. No traces of Gaara being there, _living there_, for that matter.

And this time his bed didn't had room for lovemaking, the only thing she remembered the bed by in the first place. Even the brown sheets had dissapeared. There were blue ones instead. And between those blue sheets there was Gaara. Curled up into a small ball, his legs pulled up to his chin. He was shivering, his fists clenched, holding on to the sheets. Silently Hinata walked around the bed.

She could only see half of his face, as the other half was buried in pillows. He looked skinny, the rims around his eyes blacker than ever, skin sickenly pale. Tiny sweatdrops made his hair stick to his forehead.

His breath was shallow and fast. He suffered, suffered something that couldn't be cured by his own medics.

"I'm going to bed" Hinata told Sakura, softly whispering in her ear while she tried to ignore the tears stinging behind her eyes. If she would stay a couple of seconds more, she would cause a drama. Because everything she wanted right now was close her arms around him, hauling him close to her, telling him that everything would be allright while she would stroke the sticky hair out of his eyes, cool his heated skin with her kisses.

Temari was the one who interrupted Hinata's plan to do the right thing and go to bed.

"He just had one of his phases again. I'm happy he calmed down just in time".

Her eyes looked dull but the worry about her brother was obvious. "Those incompetent medics, they only made him more ill". A dark cloud of anger seem to darken her features for a couple of seconds.

"I have some medicine with me from Tsunade. They're made to lower fevers. I was planning to give him a spoon now and stay here to see if they have any effect" Sakura said, while opening the little bag she carried around her hip to grab a small bottle with a green/yellow substance in it.

Temari got up, letting out a tired sigh. "You two can take over now, I really need my bed".

Hinata really wanted to open her mouth to tell Temari she was actually planning to do the most sensible thing in this situation: go to bed to cry her eyes out.

But when she saw Temari's tired face she knew that it was out of the question.

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"I expected Temari to stay, actually" Sakura admitted when she was alone in the room with Hinata.

"M...Me too" Hinata nodded and looked at Gaara. "I...it...it's rather difficult".

Sakura sighed a little, followed by a small roll of her eyes, showing her annoyance towards Hinata's constant whining in combination with the difficult face she was pulling.

"You have to get over this a little, Hinata. I have convinced Tsunade to take you along on this mission because I might need your help with treating him, so please...try to behave like a true ninja right now and don't let your own emotions interfer with his treatment. 'Cause I need your help when I'll give him the medicine, okay?".

Hinata stared at Sakura, knowing she was at least a little bit right but yet, it hurt her to an enormous extend to see him like this. A big knot inside her stomach made it difficult for her to breathe normally, her heart was beating too fast. And, last but not least, it was really hard to force back the tears that were really eager to start rolling down her cheeks.

"We will let him sit up, you hold him in place while I will try to wake him up a little to let him take in the medicine". She held up a small bottle.

Hinata nodded and slowly walked towards the bed while Sakura took the other side.

"Gaara?" Sakura whispered, her mouth close to his ear.

_Too close to his ear._

"Hinata is gonna lift you up a little so you can sit, and I will give you some medicine".

Slowly she turned him over from the side to his back and nodded towards Hinata that she could start trying let him sit up while Sakura prepared the medicine.

A flicker of pain went through Hinata's heart for a couple of seconds when she really saw the bad condition he was in. The way he reacted on Sakura rolling him over was nothing more than the same way a ragged doll moved when a kid picked it up.

"Oh Gaara". She couldn't help herself saying while she carefully slid one arm under his left arm, moving it quick over his back to hook her hand under his right arm, slowly forcing him to sit up.

His eyes were half-open and they looked like someone took all the green from them. They seem to stare at nothing. He seemed to be awake, but he wasn't. His body just felt heavy and limb in her arms.

Hinata fought back her tears and the feelings she had for him when she held him, feeling the feverish heat coming from every pore of his skin.

"Can you open your mouth?" Sakura asked, her voice soft and tender as she had her eyes focussed on Gaara's face. "Gaara?".

He did not react and Sakura decided not to wait to long as she brought his head up with her hand and forced the spoon with the medicinal potion into his mouth to finally poor it down.

"It will taste a little bit nasty but you have to swallow".

She held his face between her hands, waiting for swallowing-sounds, or some sign that he was accepting the potion.

As soon the potion reached his throat he started to gag, his body moving in a spastic way.

Sakura obviously foresaw this reaction and her green eyes flashed to Hinata's.

"Hold him in place" Sakura ordered her.

Hinata tightened her grip around his body while her mind had this silly chant going on that came down to: _"Oh Gaara, Oh Gaara, I'll be with you"_. Followed by probably everything that came close to those terms, including all those that featured in cheap romancenovels.

His body tried to refuse the potion in every way possible. When it realized gagging wasn't working, it tried to cough the potion up.

He trembled all over, his muscles tensed, eyes widened and bloodshot. His fingers tensed up, making his hands look like claws. Appearantly every move his body forced him to make hurt and took away his breath.

Sakura was still holding his face up, it wasn't that easy as he tried to jerk himself free. But she kept her grip, her lips a fine line with concentration while tiny sweatdrops appeared on her forehead.

It took him almost 10 minutes to calm down entirely, to give up fighting against the medicine. Sakura finally let go of his face.

Hinata was still holding him, closer than she was planning to do in the first place. One arm around his back, the other one halfly wrapped around his neck.

His breath was one big wheeze.

Sakura got off the bed, sending Hinata some looks that said: 'You can let him go now'.

"He's poisoned by something or more..._somebody_" she finally said. "And they gave the potion an awful lot of time to destroy his body. It's almost suspicious". She shook her head at noticing the incapability of Suna's medical staff.

Hinata looked up at Sakura, shocked, then her eyes drifted back to Gaara. Or more, the sad, shivering human being that was left of him.

"Idiots" Sakura sighed. "It will take me ages to find out which potion they used. And judging from the story in the message they gave it to him in a gradual way. How on earth couldn't they have noticed this!".

Hinata knew she didn't had to wait a very long time anymore before they would come.

Tears,

And they started to run over her cheeks. This was obvious the starting of a drama, but at this moment the shock was too big for her mind to deal with.

Finding the most amazing person that walked around on this planet in _this _state was one thing, but the idea someone had did this to him not only made her sad but also immensely mad.

_How could they! After everything he has done for them!_

He looked so skinny, so helpless and the fact that she couldn't change on thing about that just hurt like hell.

Hinata sobbed softly and pulled him close to her. She noticed how his usual sandalwood-ish scent was washed away by the scent of sickness and sweat.

"I need to speak with the medics right now" Sakura decided, giving Hinata a scolding look. "You can let him go now, Hinata. He needs to rest. I probably have to contact Tsunade about this".

No, she didn't let him go. She couldn't, she had this vain hope her touch would make him stop shivering, release him from the pain inside, stop the fever.

Sakura left the room right after she treated Hinata a dissaproving look. _No drama, Hinata! _

Gaara shivered again, she heared his teeth chatter softly.

"It will...be allright" she whispered, while letting her fingers go through his slightly greasy hair. "I will stay with you...do...everything to make...you better". Her voice thick with tears while she rested her head against his shoulder.

"_Everything_".

"Cold" he whispered. "Cold...".

The trembling worsened, he tried to pull up his legs, wanting to get away from her.

Hinata tried to gather some sheets and pulled those over his shoulders while rubbing her hand firmly over his back, trying to bring him warmth.

"Cold" he repeated. His voice was nothing more than a breath.

"Just hold on to me" she whispered back, her voice soft and tender. "I'll make sure you...won't be cold".

"Hina...?".

"Shh...try...to rest".

"Hinata". He moved a little and she felt his hand weakly squeezing her upper arm. "I...I need to do reports".

Lacklustred green eyes looked at her, not one single expression or emotion readable.

"Don't w...worry...about that" she answered, feeling another tear rolling down her cheek.

"I need...I need...protect the village". He was delirious, the constant shivering of his body made it impossible to hold on to the fabric of her coat. "They...attack".

"No one will attack. It's okay".

"No". It came out rather loud and he started trying to free himself from her arms. "I see them! They will attack!". His eyes were wide open, every muscle in his body tensed, his movements became jerky and rough. His fingers were bended into claws.

Hinata tried to stop him from moving, using a little bit more force to hold him down.

But even a sick Gaara still could be surprisingly strong. She received two unexpected blows in her face and in a reflex she brought her hands to her face, letting him go.

"I _need_ to stop them! I'm the Kazekage, I need to save the village".

"Gaara, it's okay! Please snap out of it". With a painful nose she practically had to throw herself on him to stop his crawling towards the end of the bed.

Frantically he started to move under the weight of her body.

"Noh! Noh! Noh!" he said, his voice was one big rasp. He kicked his legs and showed his teeth. Like a dog who was about to attack.

"Gaara! It's okay, it's okay! The...the guards already caught them!". Maybe talking along with him would stop him from exhausting himself even more.

He stopped moving and turned his head towards her.

"Are you sure?".

Hinata nodded. "They will be interrogated soon".

"Good, good".

"You can return to your bed now".

"I have to do reports".

"I...I...I already did them for you, just get some...rest".

Everything to get him back into his bed again.

She let him go, he stopped his movements and was laying completely still now, still looking at her with a face that was merely a shadow of the impressive features that made her fall in love with him in the first place. His eyes were deep in their sockets, making the blackness around it much more dominating than it usual was. His breathing was to fast, and he made a bewildered impression.

Gently she forced him to crawl back between the sheets again. One arm around his waist to pull him up again, using the other arm to move herself over the bed and guide him, back to the comfortable place where she had found him.

As soon she covered him with some sheets, he started to shiver again while he was talking. The words coming out of his mouth were more breaths then actual sounds or words.

Everytime her eyes met his her heart seemed to squirm with pain. His disease had left nothing of the Gaara she knew. He was a helpless, small, shivering pile of flesh and bones, instead of the beautiful and graceful young man she held during their nights of passion.

"Get some sleep" she whispered, her lips close to his ear, while her hand removed some of his hair out of his eyes. "Everything is taken care off".

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Hinata didn't even notice that she was dozing off at one moment.

After his delirious phase, Gaara had been quiet. His eyes closed, lips slightly parted while an irragular breath escaped from his throat, his body making an occasional tensed up movement. He was sleeping, but it sure wasn't a peaceful sleep.

Sakura was busy with determining what kind of potion it could have been that they gave to him. She sat behind the small desk, ticking her pen against the sides of the woodwork, writing things down.

It definately was an aggressive and painful one. Obviously, the one who gave it to him, wanted to see him suffer.

"Pfuh" Sakura said. "After all the things he had to go through, the things he did for them, they still want him to die a painful and humiliating death like this".

Hinata nodded. "Why...can't...they just see how...how he has changed...how...".

"I hope they'll find the one who did this to him". Sakura's voice sounded surprisingly bitter. A little bit too bitter according to Hinata's tastes. But it probably was nothing to worry about. Hinata could not use paranoia right now, she had her hands full with worrying about Gaara.

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Morning arrived rather unexpectedly. The sun came up ridiculously early, promising a hot day.

Hinata noticed that Sakura looked very tired, maybe even more tired than herself. Her face was just as pale as Gaara's and small bags were appearing under her eyes. She took his temperature to determine if the icky medicine she gave him actually had worked.

"His fever actually dropped a little" she said, smiling a little when she checked the thermometer.

Hinata couldn't help a smile either. "It's so good to hear that".

"Yeah" Sakura replied, her voice seemed distant while she dabbed Gaara's forhead with a wet towel.

_There was something, there definately was something._

"Hinata?".

"Y...yeah?".

"Are you still...in love with him?". The question came out difficultly. Sakura seem to avoid Hinata's eyes.

Hinata blushed. "I...I...I can't deny...I'm not. But...I know...it's...it's not gonna happen..between us".

Sakura closed her eyes.

_Something was bothering her. _

"Was...it serious...between you two?".

Now Hinata was downright confused. And she really didn't felt like talking about these kinds of things to Sakura. She liked Sakura, she really did, she was intelligent, kind and a very good ninja. But Naruto always had liked _her_. And she actually was able to forgive Sakura for being Naruto's wet dream because of Gaara. Than _why _was Sakura being so..._difficult?_

"Why...d...do...you w..want to know this?".

Sakura looked away for a couple of seconds. Probably overthinking the fact if it was wise to tell the thing that was bothering her in the first place. Hinata just looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"We've been together, a couple of months ago".

_What in this world? _Hinata's eyes widened. _WHAT! How?_ _First Naruto...and now Gaara?_

"What...W...what...do you mean by...that".

_Stupid timing Sakura! Stupid moment Sakura! _

"Well, you know, we...kissed and stuff".

_And stuff?_

"It...it was silly. Quickly. It was just...he approached me...and at that moment he just seemed, I dunno, _attractive_ to me, and I was...well...needing some attention. When he...you know...came...he was saying _your_ name. It made me realize how stupid it was. He really likes you, he only seems to think about you".

_What? _Hinata shook her head. _First you 'kissed and stuff' and than you need to tell me how much he like me?_

She just stared at Sakura, not really understanding what she was aiming at and she really didn't wanted to hear about how Gaara had been with Sakura. _Why Sakura? _If he was looking for some fun, or sex, in this matter, he should have known he could always come to her. Even after the fact they descided it should be wise to let eachother go. _He should have known!_

"He is good in what he does". Sakura said, sighing. "I never expected that it would be like that. With him. Of all people. _Him. _I mean, he seems not to have any concept of...being...intimate".

Hinata was completely browbeated by Sakura's confession. Okay, he was a guy after all, guys need to be with girls sometimes. But why Sakura? Was he afraid to approach her in the first place, and choose Sakura instead? As '_The closest thing to..._'? It was something she could expect. But why _Sakura_?

_Damn you, Gaara! Stop thinking with your dick!_

Those thoughts crossed her mind for just a couple of seconds. She looked up at Sakura, slightly wondering what was so interesting about this girl. Yes, she was Tsunade's assistant, crafted in medical techniques, intelligent and a way better ninja than Hinata ever could be.

And just when she wanted to ask Sakura about her 'being together and stuff' with him, little coughs started to come out of Gaara's mouth. They broke the tensed atmosphere and returned both of the girls minds back to the busness of today.

Coughing and still slightly shivering he started to move. His eyes slowly opened, looking completely beaten. The side-effects of the poison had made his body weak. Hinata saw how he struggled with sitting up and she did not know how fast she had to slip her arm around his waiste, to support him.

He looked a little bit better, he seemed to be aware of the people and happenings in the room.

"Goodmorning" Sakura said with a small smile, appearantly the medicine was doing it's job.

Gaara rubbed his eyes and coughed again, finally leaning back against the pillows Hinata had shoved behind him.

"How do you feel?" was Hinata's first question, while she gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

Despite every word Sakura had said, her heart was practically overflowing with that familiar warm fuzzy feeling she could recall from their previous meetings.

"Like...crap" he answered, his voice was a rasp. His body was still trembling, but not as severe as last night. Slowly he made some stretching movements, in order to relax his muscles a little.

"Do you feel like eating something?".

"I am thirsty".

Almost immediately Sakura handed him a glass of water. "Here". There was this strange tender look in her eyes and Hinata did not liked it. She was jealous.

Slowly he grabbed the glass and brought it to his lips.

He drank in a greedy way. Water ran down his chin as the fluid went down his throat and it didn't took long before he asked for a second glass and a third one.

"Did the Hokage send you two?" he wanted to know, looking at Hinata with dull eyes and a sick face.

She smiled, stroking his cheek with the back of her hand. "Yeah".

"Our medical staff still is worthless" he sighed, a flicker of dissapointment crossing his face

Hinata's heart skipped a beat when she felt his hand touching hers. The familiar feel of his skin against hers caused a short down-time inside her mind. Allowing old feelings to rise again, following by those good old questions and theories she had about her relationship with him.

_Why did it always had to end this way? Everytime when we meet, we descide that we can't go on like this, but yet, every new meeting we regain every feeling we want to ignore so badly. We're torturing eachother this way._

His fingers closed themselves around hers and he smiled faintly at her. After that he closed his eyes to give in to the damn fever again.

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Hinata curled up in the bed that got appointed to her, it was a much more simple bed and it wasn't really comfortable. The matrass seemed to be made from concrete.

She was tired, her muscles felt sore and yet, she couldn't sleep. She wouldn't dare to sleep, not now Gaara had been awake for almost the entire day. Sometimes sleeping a little. And that entire day Hinata was sitting next to him while Sakura was busy with finding a cure for the poison.

But around 6 o clock in the afternoon the fever had kicked in again. She saw how he slipped away while she had covered his hand with both of her hands. His body started to tremble again, strange words escaping from his mouth. His voice sounded low, like it had to come from deep within. Sounding like he was placing a curse on someone.

Followed by a long conversation about how the building was on fire, he was explaining where the exits were, and how you could fled a burning building as safe as possible.

When he told that, he fell unconscious and she had no other choice than to leave him to the hands of Sakura.

And with these experiences in mind Hinata was trying to get some sleep. She couldn't get any sleep, certainly not now she had to leave Gaara behind in a condition even worser than the previous day.

Temari had been rather disturbed by the way she had held his hand when she entered the room. Hinata saw her eye twitch and just before his hotheaded oldest sister wanted to say something about it Hinata managed to slip out of the room.

The clock was striking 3 when she heard people walking down the hall, they were whispering.

Oh, how Hinata wanted to get up and know what they were talking about and especially, if Gaara was okay. She just wanted to comfort him, hold him, let him know she was there for him. Despite everything that Sakura had to say, and despite every twitch Temari's eye could make.

The people passed her door and silence seem to take over again. Allowing her to finally feel sleep kicking in.

Okay, until someone descided to shout through the hallway in terms of: "Come! Come quick!".

People started running, hard and fast footsteps on the wooden floor. There was a lot of noise all of a suddenly. It seemed to come from everywhere. She heared Temari yelling something like: "Gaara don't go there! You're delirious, please get back to your bed!".

_Gaara! _

Hinata sat up and no way she was planning to sleep any longer. There was something wrong with Gaara, serious, no way that she would sit and wait until the moment something worser than the damn fever would happen to him.

"I have to do those reports. The council wants to see them". Gaara's voice sounded, or, something that pretended to be Gaara. It was more a sick combination between a growl and heavy breathing. And another thing was, it sounded sick, weak and confused.

Hinata jumped out of bed, grabbing something to cover up the upper part of her body.

She did not know how fast she had to run towards the door to open it.

"Gaara!" she heared herself yell, stepping into the hallway.

He was right in front of her, his face was nothing else than some white mask. Eyes wild, shaking, the long robe he was wearing was hanging loose around his shoulders. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. Sweat was dripping of his forehead, his face nothing more than total and utter confusion.

On her right she saw Temari running towards her brother. Her face looked shocked and worried.

"Get him Hinata! He totally lost it again!".

Hinata's eyes flashed from Temari back to Gaara as she tried to approach him.

Gaara lashed out at her, like a wild animal that got cornered by hunters. Rough movements. Like someone else had taken over his body and changed him into this sick, fragile and slightly insane skinny man that was standing in front of her. She couldn't help seeing the resemblance between him and the 12 year old version she enountered years ago.

"Gaara" she said, slowly trying to get near to him, trying to avoid the arms he swung at her in order to hit her and defend himself. "It's okay...everything is allright...taken care off".

"No! I have to go to my office!" he answered. His breathing was fast and rasping, his body trembled heavily. She saw his knees shake, he could collapse any second.

"It...okay...everything is...okay". She repeated it, her voice soft and gentle, reaching her arms out to him.

"Leave me _alone_!" he hissed, while he lashed out at her for a third time.

Temari and Sakura were standing still, halfway of the hallway, watching. Behind them there were 5 more people.

But they didn't matter to her. As far as Hinata knew, they did not exist. Only Gaara did. And he was in trouble. She avoided more of his attempts to hit her to finally get very close to him. She had narrowed her eyes, swallowing hard.

He pressed himself against the wall, he obviously felt threathened. "Get away from me!".

_No! Certainly not now!_

She got even closer, her nose already catching faint scents of sweat and sickness.

"It's okay, Gaara, it's okay".

Carefully she wrapped her arms around him, slowly hauling him close to her.

"It's allright" she whispered, wiping sticky hair out of his eyes. "There's nothing to be afraid of".

"I have to...". His voice sounded tired, his body made some weak movements in order to break free, like he just didn't want to give up, or gave in for that matter.

She held him close, stroking his cheek with her hand, whispering sweet words in his ear. Trying to resist that dreadful feeling of being powerless. Trying to ignore the fact he looked so helpless, and how futile it all seemed to be. That dreadful poison was messing up his body and mind, and she couldn't stop it.

_It...it hurts me to see you like this_.

She might regained some control over her compulsive blush, but that didn't count for her tears, because those were running freely over her cheeks now.

"I havv..." he muttered, she felt how his muscles went limp and how his knees gave in. His weight increased in her arms and finally she had to go through her knees to prevent her from letting him go. Together they sank to the floor. Almost directly after they touched the ground he passed out, his body had given up.

Immediately people started to surround Hinata, Temari freed her brother from her grip while Sakura pushed her out of the way.

All of a suddenly Hinata didn't matter anymore. Everyone was running around, trying to make things easier for Gaara, for Temari and for Sakura too.

The two medics started to carry him back to his room.

"When will Tsunade arrive?" Temari asked, her voice sounded shaky. "There...there isn't much we can do anymore from here".

"She will be here around tomorrow afternoon" Sakura promised while she was following the two medics back to Gaara's room. "I have distillated some ingredients from the poison but it's still a mystery to me where it came from, and the scrolls you gave also don't do much for me".

"If I ever find out who has done this to him!". Temari sounded enraged. "It might sound weird but...I don't feel like loosing my little brother right now. He has done a lot for our village, you know. He has rose above himself in every way possible. He _doesn't _deserve this!".

Sakura nodded silently before closing the door behind her, silence returned to the building again.

-------------------------------------

Hinata cried the entire night. She couldn't sleep anymore, the image of Gaara behaving like that, looking like that. It kept on dancing in front of her eyes. The feeling of sticky, sick skin against her cheek seemed to linger. How he trembled, how confused he was, how he was suffering. It haunted her.

She knew she couldn't be with him, period. But losing him, knowing that she wouldn't see him anymore, _forever_. No, that was something she could not accept. She was not able to accept a world where Gaara wasn't a part of anymore. A world like that seemed an empty world to her.

But it soothed Hinata that Tsunade was on her way. Maybe she could put an end to his suffering, a _good _ end that is.

Tomorrow would probably bring more news. It could be bad, it could be good.

_It better be good._

------------------------------------

Hinata was surprised, there was no-one inside, except him. Silently she slipped inside and closed the door behind her. She had gotten up very early and the only thing on her mind was checking how he was doing, even if her stomach was begging for food.

He was asleep, he produced squeaky sounds with every breath. He laid on his side, curled up again. Half of his face was covered by a towel.

Hinata wasn't stupid, she knew his body wasn't able to resist the fever anymore. He was fading away.

Hinata sat down on the chair next to his bed, staring at him for a couple of minutes. Her mind could not comprehend the thought about him not being in this world anymore. It wouldn't take long.

Slowly she leaned over to grab his hand. Squeezing it carefully. Recalling painful memories that were sweet at the moments they took place.

"Tsunade will come this afternoon to cure you. Just hang on a little bit longer" she told him. "_Please_ hang on".

"I am not surprised to see you here" a hard voice sounded, followed by the sound of a door closing.

Tsunade looked down on her, with a face that was a mixture between being annoyed and worried.

She never had been so happy to see Tsunade in her entire life as at that moment. This made up for all the problems she had with the Hokage on previous occasions.

"Someone...poisoned him" Hinata told the Hokage.

"I know, hearing the description it's probably a slow poison that affects his mind and weakens his body. Very sophisticated, very difficult to trace. Sakura could only determine one ingredient. Hmpfh...it has never been a secret that Suna had a specialization in developing poisons, but to cure them...that's another thing".

Clinical and with a certain direct roughness Tsunade started to check on Gaara. She examined him while supporting him with one arm. She opened his mouth, looked at his eyes, took his pulse.

"He lost a lot of weight".

Hinata nodded while folding her hands, praying to all the gods her mind could think of. Tears were flowing down her face.

Carefully Tsunade put him back between the sheets while a thoughtful look appeared on her face.

"We have to move fast, he won't see the next day if we don't start making an antidote soon".

"Please cure him" Hinata said, her voice trembling with every sob she made.

Tsunade didn't answer, she only looked at Hinata with a look that could be interpret as annoyance.

"Go wake up Sakura" she finally ordered while she started to remove the sheets from him for a closer examination.

"Yes Hokage-sama" Hinata answered with a tiny voice after she got up from the chair and wiped the tears out of her eyes.

----------------------------------

From that moment on Gaara's room was prohibited for anyone. No one was allowed while Tsunade and Sakura were inside, working on a cure. Temari was guarding the door that separated Gaara's livingquarters from the rest from the building.

Hinata was forced to wait in another part of the building. Kankurou was the one that kept her company but she didn't even listen to the things he said to her. It drove her completely crazy.

Gaara was the only thing on her mind, and Kankurou's questions and stories weren't relevant at this point. Her mind was doing overtime.

_I can't exist when I know you're not there anymore. We might not be together, but you not being there isn't an option._

Those two sentences were probably the only ones different to _I love you _and _I love you so much_.

"You look even more worried than Temari". Kankurou tried to make it sound casual, covering it up in something that had to pass as a joke, but they both knew that wasn't exactly the deal.

Hinata looked up to him and immediately blushed. That reaction earned her two raised eyebrows.

"Well...I've been...taking care...of him with Sakura...and it...saddens me...".

_Damn tears! Stay back!_

Kankurou observed her like a tiger observed it's prey. Eyes narrowed, trying to conclude something out of Hinata's behaviour. For a couple of minutes he was quiet but finally he said the words she had feared:

"Oh. My. God. The little Konoha ninja has a crush on my little brother! How sweet!".

Whatever moment it was, it couldn't stop Kankurou from making sarcastic remarks. Probably that was his way to deal with things.

Hinata looked away, probably not proving him wrong at that moment. And those tears weren't helping either.

_Damnit! _

Hours passed by. Kankurou had stopped making remarks about her 'crush' on Gaara, which was, actually more than just a _crush_. Both were silent, staring at the food that a servant brought to them a couple of minutes ago. They didn't felt like eating..

"I don't want to lose my little bro like this" Kankurou sighed. "I've never seen him like this. It's unreal".

Hinata looked up, she felt for him. He probably was out of sarcastic remarks, and had no other choice to show her his worried and more sensitive side.

"I know...what you mean" she whispered.

Kankurou looked at her and opened his mouth to answer.

He just got out something sounding like "Ahi" when the door opened and Temari appeared.

The look on her face told them all they had to know.

"Tsunade made an antidote. He...he is responding on it. The fever dropped within a hour or so". Her face was one big relief, a small smile playing around her lips.

"Oh Thank God!" Hinata sighed, smiling happily. "Can I see him?".

She asked the wrong question to the wrong person.

"She has a crush on Gaara, you can't blame her" Kankurou said with a big smirk on his face.

Temari raised her eyebrows. "No, he's resting. Only Tsunade is with him right now".

She just gave Hinata a glance. She already had noticed the signs. Probably that moment in the hallway was the last proof she needed to draw the final conclusion.

And what was the problem anyways, it was not like she could actually be with him. That was out of the question.

-------------------------------

"He is eating some fruit right now" Tsunade said, stretching her back followed by a loud yawn. "And I'm gonna take a nap. I'm completely worn out".

"Can I see him?".

Hinata had asked this to numerous of people today. But everywhere she got a solid 'no'.

"Hinata, Hinata" Tsunade sighed, rolling her eyes, leaning back in her chair. "I give you five minutes".

"Thank you!". Happy she got up and practically ran to Gaara's bedroomdoor.

Impatient she knocked two times, eagerly awaiting the sound of his voice.

"What do you want?".

_He's alive! He's alive!_

"It's me...Hinata".

A short silence followed, making her almost burst with joy. "Come in".

His voice still sounded weak but a lot better than it ever sounded the last days.

Carefully she opened the door and entered the room while her heart was working overtime.

He sat up in his bed, he was wearing a brown shirt, in his hands he held a part of a watermelon. And he looked so much better! Still pale, still tired, but his eyes were clear and had regained the vivid green color she knew and liked so well.

"I'm so happy you're healthy again". Hinata couldn't hide her relief and happiness, tears of joy were escaping from the corners of her eyes. She couldn't care less anymore.

She just wanted to jump him, hug him, doing much more other things as well.

But that part she _did_ hide.

Gaara put down his food and watched her as she sat down in the chair next to his bed. The two stared at eachother for a couple of minutes. Hinata with a slight smile, Gaara with a mouth covered with tiny bits of melon.

"Come sit next to me". He pointed at the empty space on the bed next to him. She smiled even broader and accepted his offer. Carefully -afraid to break something, especially Gaara- she climbed on the bed to settle next to him. Her nose catched a pleasant scent of soap.

He offered her an orange. With a shy smile she accepted it and started to peel off the rind.

"Gaara?". Hinata looked up, searching for his eyes, playing with the collar of his shirt.

"Yes?".

"Sakura...she told me...something...". She started to fidget with her fingers, feeling uncomfortable. "About...you...being together with her".

"Yes".

Ah! She forgot. He was known for his brutal honesty. And he wasn't gonna make an exception on her.

"Oh...okay" she answered, feeling a little bit crushed.

"It was one night. We needed it".

"She told...she told me...". Hinata couldn't find the right words. It made her nervous.

"Sakura was good, but it felt better with you".

Hinata blushed immensely and swallowed down a part of her orange. Some part of her mind even liked to hear that she was better than Sakura and started to celebrate.

"Why...why...you..could come to me... I could come to you. I...I...would...do those things...with you anytime".

"No. You know that's not possible. And at that moment, it wasn't possible either. You were on a mission" he answered with a croaked voice.

"But if I wasn't?". This was some info she just had to know.

He shrugged his shoulders, focussing on the banana he had grabbed.

_But he wanted to? _

With him sitting next to her she realized even more than ever that she didn't had that _special_ attention for a long time. The last time, was with him. Wait, _all_ her times were with him.

Gaara obviously didn't had to do a lot to get the attention of women, to get _that_ attention. It didn't surprised her, as he transformed from a creepy, skinny psychopath who's hobbies mainly concisted out of killing as many people as possible, to an incredibly attractive man who had been to hell and back, and who's interests had shifted to protecting those people he wanted to kill on earlier occassions.

"Sometimes...I wonder...if I ever...find someone. If I ever...". She sighed, troubled by her own thoughts. "If I ever be able to get over you. I...I...everytime...when someone speaks about you...I feel gutted... And...if I deny...it...try to get on, I end up realizing I am not over you. What...what can I do...to forget you...?".

It came out desperate, and maybe she was desperate. Forgetting him would make her life more easy, maybe it could make her look at other boys again in the way she looked at him.

It reminded her of the fact that right after she left Sunagakure 3 years ago, she played with the thought of leaving her clan. Turning her back to her father and her future to just seek shelter in his arms again. Staying with him was all she wanted at that point. She cried her eyes out in the first place!

Hinata felt his arms slipping around her. A pleasant familiar feeling.

_Oh good! Not like this was helping!_

"Worrying about things like that is a waste of time". She felt his head lightly pressing against her shoulder. Hinata closed her eyes and sighed.

_I am so tired of resisting you. You know I can't. You use that against me. I'm so happy you're getting healthy again, but..._

"I _can't_, Gaara! I can't do this anymore!". She freed herself from his arms. "Not now...not... It's not ment to be!".

_Oh great, Hinata, now you're starting to behave hysterical!_

Arms hauled her back again.

"Ssssht, it's okay, Hinata, it's okay. I want you to be here".

But _her _entire body wanted to be more to him than just _being here_. _That_ was the biggest issue.

The five minutes Tsunade had gave her had passed 10 minutes ago.

He had kissed her again. And she had given in to him pretty quick, like always. And maybe his illness had took some of his strength, he still knew how to kiss. A kiss with a nice melony aftertaste this time.

Pretty much one that could be place under the category: _Delicious._

And although she had promised herself that she wouldn't let this happen again, the main problem was that he was too addictive. _Too damn addictive!_

She loved him too much, there was no way she could get over him. Everytime she descided to stay away from him, to not give in to him anymore, it all got nullified when faith descided to bring them together again.

"Damn you" she whispered in her ear, acknowledging her defeat. Her blush almost purple. She was hanging over him, holding his face between her hands, still enjoying the faint taste of melon in her mouth. Enjoying his features a little bit too much.

"I need to get some sleep" Gaara finally said when Hinata just had planned to nibble on his earlobe. That one thing he liked so much.

Gently he pushed her away from him and gave her a faint smile. An upcurl of one of the corners of his mouth.

"Should I visit you later?" Hinata asked, crawling off him. Her mind totally at some happy cloud way above everything.

"Visit me tomorrow" was the answer before he pulled the sheets around him and turned around.

"I will".

----------------------------------------

The news reached her right after she woke up.

Actually it was more that the news appeared next to her bed.

She was in a deep (well deserved) sleep and at first she didn't felt somebody stroking her cheek in a delicate way. She didn't hear a deep voice whispering her name close to her ear. At least _at first_.

She felt that someone was shaking her. Waking her up.

"Sakura?" she muttered, still dizzy with sleep. "Is there anything with G...?".

"No, he's fine".

That woke her up immediately. Probably there was no better wake-up call than that. She smiled broadly, she reconized that voice out of a million, it filled her with feelings laying between pure joy and just those oldfashioned butterfly's in the stomach.

Green eyes, not even close to those from Sakura, greeted her when she turned around, the expression on his face was surprisingly mild. His skin had regained some colour again. But his shoulders still looked awfully skinny.

"H...hey...d...didn't expected you" she said while she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "You...need to be sleeping".

He shrugged his shoulders and decided to sit down at the end of her bed.

She gave him an insecure look. That's how she felt, because she knew that the chances on this meeting ending up in passionate lovemaking was rather big. Especially because of the fact they both have been yearning for eachother for too long.

The silence between them was also overwhelming, _everything_ was overwhelming when he was around.

"Will...we...?" she asked, rubbing the back of her neck.

He nodded.

"But...the promise we made, the...deal...Tsunade...".

_Wait! Are you trying to let this NOT happen? You want to go back to your fingers again when you can get every part of him?_

"I know".

"But what...must we...?".

She couldn't finish her sentence, he just answered it for her, in his blunt way. "_Nothing. _I want you".

"Like Sakura?".

He seemed to be annoyed with her confronting him with his one-night-thing that he had with Sakura. More then two times.

"More then with Sakura. I want to hear you saying my name, _that_ way. _Only _you".

_He's horny as hell_. That was the only conclusion she could make out of his behaviour.

But on the other hand, she also felt that semi-pleasant feeling of lust burning in the lower parts of her stomach.

Hinata looked at him, eyes bright and maybe a slight blush, but nothing to be afraid of.

"I won't let you go for a fifth time, Gaara, I don't want to go through all of it again. If...you choose to be with me right now, you...choose...me".

And yes, she realized she was putting everything at risk when she told him how the deal was. But it always seemed to end like this, promising eachother things, to protect themselves, their positions and their future. But Hinata was tired of it.

Trying to find a way out of being in love with him while there simply wasn't a way out! It always ended up with her crying, feeling sad, wanting the one thing she can't have.

_Enough!_

But was he willing to take the risk too? Konoha and Suna were on very good terms now, and Tsunade had known about Hinata's impossible crush on Gaara. He was known for being a resourceful Kage. He probably would find a solution. Right?

Gaara gazed at her, his eyes studying her face.

"Do...do you choose..._me_?".

His eyes drifted off to the rest of her body, like he had to check everything before he could give an answer.

"I...I...I am willing to renunciate...my...position as the heiress of our clan... You can do something to...justify me staying here...".

Because there was no way that she would leave his side when this desicion was made.

And it seemed all so simple and maybe it was simple. Maybe the choice had been simple all along.

"It's not a matter of choosing, it's a matter of realization" he whispered while he carefully relocated her shirt from her body to a place next to the bed. She hardly noticed that he had already started to undress her.

"I won't leave this time" she whispered back, her hands touching the cool skin under the tunic he was wearing.

"I won't let you leave" he answered, hauling her very close to him. Cool breath skimming her skin.

A long, passionate kiss made further words unnecesary. It dazzled her, awakening that delightful feeling of pleasure again while the first rays of sunlight where lightening up the room.

Hinata couldn't help to let out a surprised cry when he rolled her on her back all of a suddenly. It was still something that always slipped her mind, somethimes he moved faster than the wind. Well, he wasn't called _The Shadow of the Wind _for nothing, appearantly.

"You...make me so happy". Her fingers touched his hair, his nose, his lips. As if she still had to determine if he really existed, that it really was him, looking at her with beautiful green eyes.

"The door is locked" he replied, sounding sort of impatient. "We have all the time".

Hinata smiled, slowly moving her legs up to wrap them around him. She didn't mind using a little bit of force, her mind and body had longed for him for such a long time. No way that she would miss _any _opportunity to be with him now. Without any doubt she pressed her lips against his, running her tongue over his lips, begging for entrance.

She just wanted to let him _feel_ how much she loved him. She wanted to hear him gasp for air, moan, losing himself in the pleasure _she_ brought to him. Let him at least share the same sensations he was bringing to her. As well on fysical as a mental level.

Her hands were having a mind of their own, touching his skin, feeling the lean muscles of his body tense and relax while her lower body carefully grinded against his. And while she did that, she refused to look away from those two beautiful green orbs he used to look at the world around him.

He broke the kiss much to early. He just decided to hang above her, looking down on her, hands next to her head.

_Stop the teasing!_

She was aware that he was an expert in teasing her, moving too slow when her body just screamed for immediate satisfaction. She heared her own pitched breathing echo in her ears, making her even more aware of her horny state of mind.

_Goddamnit Gaara, move it already!_

As if he was somekind of mindreader he finally leaned towards her again, moving his hands away from the places they had beside her head so his fingers could start to touch her again.

With all the anticipation build up inside of her she couldn't help a small gasp when she felt his tongue tracing her collarbone, her neck, all up to her lips to end it with a mindblowing kiss. One of those kisses only he was capable of.

In his familiar slow way he nibbled his way from her neck to one of her nipples. He sure was taking his sweet time before she felt his tongue running over it, forcing her body to add more pleasure to the amount that was already settled inside of her.

Strangely enough, it took her more than a minute to discover she was already slightly moaning when he switched from just licking into sucking. Hinata let her fingers run over the smooth skin of his back, slowly tracing a way up to the small hairs in his neck.

"Ohhhh God" she couldn't help saying when he was kissing the insides of her thighs. It had caught her completely off guard. As far as her mind knew he was still busy with caressing her breasts. Right?

"Oh God indeed" he muttered, smiling, letting his fingers playfully run over her belly.

Hinata hated it that she couldn't reach him. He was sitting on his knees between her legs, kissing and touching but most of all _teasing_.

She could just sit up, reaching out for him. She knew what he wanted to do, and it drove her completely nuts that he was being so slow. At one hand it was pure torture, on the other hand it was pure bliss. She was already in a state of pre-orgasmic joy, and he didn't do much to her than just some touching and kissing. But the fact that it was _him_, touching and kissing that way, doubled the fun.

A loud moan escaped her mouth when one of his fingers slipped inside of her, followed by a second one. Almost immediately she started to move against them, eyes wide for a couple of seconds.

And while his fingers stayed where they were, he used his other arm to force her to sit up again so he could kiss her.

"Is it good like this?" he whispered, his face close to hers, adding a third finger.

"Yes...yes". She was breathless, her eyes closed, her senses absorbing the pleasure he was causing.

She arched her back a little, moaning a little bit louder, he still held her in place, making her unable to move much.

"And like this?". He placed his thumb on that particular spot while two fingers went in a little bit deeper.

"Oh yes!". She really wanted to say more, but the other words got lost in a moan.

"I love those sounds you're making". His voice was one big satisfied purr.

Hinata smiled, swallowed one moan to ask him: "Do they turn you on?".

More pressure, even deeper.

"Yes" he whispered in her ear.

He pulled his fingers back a little, letting his thumb rub against that spot again. Those movements got answered with another moan. She felt how the arm that had been wrapped around her so tightly loosened up, making her able to move more freely.

"Move" he ordered, his eyes focussed on her face, followed by a light kiss on her nose.

Hinata didn't had to think twice. Frantically she started to rock her lower body against his fingers, arms wrapped around his neck, holding on to him.

He gave her an open mouth kiss, silencing her.

Her moans went over in an "Oh Gaa" as soon she noticed that she was about to reach her climax. Hinata had to swallow hard for a couple of times just to get her senses together a little to leave hickies on his shoulder. But it didn't took very long until the tingling sensation in the lower areas of her belly were demanding all of her attention.

_All...I...need...is one..._

Her mind wasn't even able to finish up the sentences it wanted to let her know. His presence was so damn overwhelming, those fingers down there were even more overwhelming. With every move she made against them the pleasure inside of her multiplied. And that combined with the sensation of his cool breath going over her heated skin was almost heavenly. Completely off this world.

With one final movement against his fingers she came. Eyes wide open, screaming his name around the house. As she always did in situations like that. Her body close to his, trembling, blood rushing through her veins. Her nails digging into his skin. Desperately she held on to him while trying to regain her breath, enjoying the faint scent of soap that surrounded him.

_I missed this...I missed him so much!_ That was the only conclusion she could make while her heartbeat was getting back to it's normal rhythm again.

"There is no one in the world who can call out my name like that" he said, looking very satisfied, slowly slipping his fingers out of her again.

She giggled lightly. "There's no one in the world that can do things to me like that".

They kissed again, hungry, passionate, deep.

"Let me satisfy you" Hinata finally said when he had broken the kiss to study her face for a second time, his hands placed on her cheeks.

She covered his hands with her own, looking back at him.

"Please let me satisfy you". Her voice sounded tender, soft, barely a whisper.

A small smile dansed across his face, lightening his features for a short period of time, making this short moment even more special.

Finally she got him to lie down on his back. He wasn't really too fond of being submissive to her positionwise and she knew she had to come up with something pretty sweet to make him forget that fact.

Hinata crawled on top of him, determined to keep up the same gruelsome slow pace he had used on her. Slowly she placed a small kiss right under his ear, allowing her fingers to run through his hair. Than she moved up to his earlobe, shifting her weight a little, hoping to just brush a sensitive part of his body.

A semi-satisfied 'hm' escaped from his mouth when she started to nibble on it, while her hands trailed his chest. After that she focussed her attention on his lips, in a teasing way she letted her tongue brush over them to finally move towards the area around his right collarbone.

Hinata tasted soap when she placed small licks on his shoulder, making her way up to his neck again. Her heart jumped a little when she felt how he tilted his head up a little, encouraging her to pay even more attention to those areas. His fingers were lightly tickling her upper arms.

"You're letting me pay for teasing you earlier on, right?" he mentioned, his face turned to the side but she could see he was smiling.

Hinata giggled. "Yes".

"You're evil" he answered. The tone of his voice wasn't really implying that it was a joke, but she knew better.

Leaving a wet trail from his neck to his belly she moved on to the lower parts of his body. Sometimes she just moved up again, to tease him even more.

On occassions she had felt him shiver lightly under her touches and licks. And sometimes she had to look at him to check if he still was enjoying it. Sometimes she damned her insecurity, because right now she just couldn't use it.

When she reached those lower areas below his hips she felt him shift a little. Bothered by her insecurity she looked at him to discover he got up, leaning on his elbows, watching her carefully.

Probably he knew she had never done such a thing before.

Well, it was the only conclusion that could be made, as she didn't do this to him on previous occassions. And he had been the only one she had sex with in the first place.

A couple of years back she wouldn't even _think_ about doing this. As the idea really had disgust her. Touching a man's part and satisfy him was one thing, but using your mouth to satisfy it, Hinata found that even a worser turn-off than the moment she discovered Neji wanking in the small room near the Hyuuga trainingplace.

But this was different. This was Gaara, and she had to do something for him, after all the work he putted into pleasing her in so many way.

And wasn't it was a well known fact that men prefered the oral treatment above anything else? And if she ever wanted to get over this fear, _this_ was definately the moment to do that!

Oh yeah, and him watching her like a hawk who was keeping track of it's prey wasn't really making her feel sure about this either.

"I'll promise I won't screw up" she said softly, looking at him.

"You won't". He reached out to touch her cheek for a short moment.

She braced herself for everything when she slowly closed her lips around him, afraid to touch him with her tongue.

_It will probably taste nasty, he will probably like it less because I don't know what to do exactly._ _What am I going to do now?_

When she took him in a little bit more she heared a small gasp escape from his mouth.

And that was actually the thing she needed to hear to encourage her to go further. Just that little gasp, just _his_ pleasure.

The more she covered him with her mouth, the more she felt his lower body making small jerks.

Her eyes narrowed with concentration as she finally found the courage to move her tongue a little in a slow up-and-down way.

His breathing pitched at the point she brushed over a particular sensitive area.

That was just the thing she needed to hear to know where she had to focus her attention on. Carefully she circled her tongue around that spot.

"Ahh" was his reaction, followed by heavy shivering.

And how much she loved his response to her pretty clumsy movements she didn't dare to take in more of him, even now her mouth was accostumed to the taste and the feel of it against her tongue.

Hinata tried to look at him, trying to get a glimpse of his face while she was satisfying him this way. Unfortunately she couldn't get further than a short view on two parted lips. Probably he had threw his head a little bit more back.

When she sped up the movements a delightful small moan came out of his mouth. A hand touched her hair, putting it behind her ear, stroking her cheek. Despite the unpredictable jerky movements his body were starting to make, his hand seemed steady. It gently moved over her head to finally rest at the back of her skull. He had sat up more and she felt his left leg shift a little.

The more she licked and sucked, the more he reacted on it, exactly the way she wanted. Short moans escaped from his mouth, as the fingers of the hand on the back of her head started to bend a little, putting more pressure on her head as if he doesn't want her to do anything else, or _go _anywhere else for that matter.

He had never been that loud before. All that her ears met were loud moans out of his mouth. And with every moan she heared, a tingly sensation shot through her body.

The one hand that she had placed on his belly noticed how he trembled. The _healthy_ way this time.

Because her mouth was pretty occupied her mind was having an entire conversation with him. Her childish part actually had hope that he could hear it. Every sentence was either a declaration of love or about how fantastic he was. It was just crazy.

She had always been afraid to give in to expressing her love to a person. Her crush on Naruto made her learn that lesson. Everytime she wanted to tell him how much she liked him, or even _loved_ him, she horribly failed. Embarrassing herself to enormous extends.

Until Gaara broke that circle singlehandedly. His blunt approach at everything nullified her fear of embarrassing herself. That made her like him that much, and that liking changed into a feeling of love much quicker than she thought.

And she had never, ever foresaw that a cruel, creepy, small and skinny psychopath, the one she saw in The Forest of Death when she was 12, could change into this wonderful person who was shivering under her caresses right now.

A loud "Argh" filled the room. His body made a few short jerks against the place her mouth was.

It struck her that he had allowed himself to loose more control while he was experiencing his climax. The movements he made seemed random, like he didn't had that full control over himself he used to have during this moments. Like he wanted to show her that he really trusted her.

And she enjoyed that more than ever

"Damn Hinata" he sighed, she felt him falling back between the sheets, relaxing.

Her mouth was actually tasting something rather icky, and that needed her full attention right now.

There was only one nasty side-effect.

She was so entirely into pleasuring him that she forgot that one of the things that could happen while giving a blowjob was him releasing inside her mouth.

And it had this nasty bitter taste. Her simple mind even thought that someone as wonderful as Gaara would also taste as wonderful, a taste that matched his looks.

Reflexes made her gag and it got followed by trying to spitting it out. She felt it dribbling over her chin and she frantically picked up the corner of one of the sheets to wipe it away.

And actually, she wasn't aware of the pretty embarrassing situation she was causing right now. Pulling a disgusted face while trying to get rid of the nasty taste.

She was still busy wiping when she heared his amused giggle.

A sound like that coming from Gaara's mouth was only ment for very rare occassions. This was appearantly one of those.

With a blush that was almost purple Hinata turned around.

"S...sorry...I...I...It's...tasting so...bad" she muttered, looking away from him, the only way to hide her shame a little.

Spitting out the fluids from the man she _wanted_ to satisfy that much, could certainly be filed into the category: "_Hyuuga Hinata's Most Stupid Antics_". She cursed herself for it.

It were his hands on her face that calmed her down a little. The slight brush of his lips against hers that made the blush dissappear a little.

"That was very good" he whispered. "You're a _wonderful _female".

_But I just behaved like a moron! I just spit out your sperm! But I'm an idiot! Please be angry!_

Her mind could scream and even beg for his anger. He just simply _wasn't_.

He looked at her, his eyes crispy green, a faint smile around his lips. After that he wrapped his arms around her.

Warm feelings overflowed her body and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him just as tight. Making sure that this time, he wouldn't get away.

"I won't let you go. Never again". Her voice was soft, her words carefully chosen, her feelings more true than ever.

"I love you" was his simple reply.


End file.
